DUSK Music Festival, known for its catering options and the eclectic variety of music genres featured, will return to downtown Tucson from Nov. 15-16 at Jácome Plaza, where it has been held since 2021. In attendance this year will be 31 artists, including Deorro, G-Eazy, INZO, Levity and Loud Luxury. The event also features a special appearance by house musician Acraze.
This year, catering will be provided by Tucson FEASTS, a group of Tucson chefs and eateries curated by the festival. The selections, all of whom have served the event previously, include Dante’s Fire, Fresco’s Pizzeria and Pastaria, Solid Grindz Hawaiian Cuisine and four others.
Tucson FEASTS is part of a new group of three experiences provided by the festival, which also include Tucson ARTS and Tucson PLAYS. Tucson ARTS will showcase a variety of pieces at the event in partnership with the University of Arizona’s School of Art, 3D and Extended Media, while Tucson PLAYS will offer arcade games courtesy of Cobra Arcade Tucson, as well as a variety of outdoor and lawn games.
According to Page Repp, one of the founders of the DUSK music festival, he never imagined the event could be so successful when he first started in 2016 with fellow UA alumni. Repp himself is a graduate of the UA College of Architecture, Planning & Landscape Architecture. “We all wanted to do something big in the city of Tucson, because growing up here and going to school here, all the big shows, all the big events, they all seemed to be in Phoenix,” Repp said.
The part of the event Repp is most excited about this year is “just the transformation of the downtown space,” Repp said. “You know, if you go down to Jácome Plaza, it’s just a normal kind of urban park and then what we transform it into is pretty special.”
The festival has traditionally included both world-famous artists and local musicians. This year, Tucson brings artists Daytrails, Desert Music Project, New Misphoria, SIV and Sophzhaus to the stage. Also performing at the event are three other Arizona acts: Phoenix-based Ekonovah, Scottsdale-based Bummer Girl and Flagstaff-based Keegan Halvorsen & the Woke Mob.
“This is our first year doing festivals of this nature, so we’re really excited for it,” Jake O’Rourke, who plays guitar for Desert Music Project and also manages the band, said. “It’s going to be a really good way to end our year and build some momentum into next year. We have some things we’re kind of looking forward to that this will build some good trajectory toward.”
One way Desert Music Project is building momentum for 2026 is through the release of their newest single “Raincheck”, which debuted on Oct. 24 and is available to stream on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and YouTube. The band, which plays what O’Rourke describes as “cinematic desert rock,” plans the release of their first full album next year.
DUSK has organized smaller Tucson events recently, including a Battle of the Bands that was held at La Rosa this year on Oct. 11. “It’s a brand new venue here in town, and so we got to see some new fresh talent,” Repp said. According to Repp, DUSK is committed to providing a platform for Tucson artists: “Our local stage is literally the first thing you see when you come into DUSK, it’s the very first.”
According to O’Rourke, the growing music scene in Tucson provides lots of opportunities for local artists. “It’s not somewhere like L.A. or New York where it’s just completely immersed with a bunch of bands and it’s, like, impossible to kind of work your way into that,” O’Rourke said. “I think it’s building up a lot in a way that is really beneficial to the local artists […]. The local music scene has really been fostered through a lot of these venues and festivals here in town.”
More information about the event, including ticket bundles and pricing, can be found at duskmusicfestival.com.
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